Chapter 582: Chapter 582

Xiao Ying’s Core Formation is not something that can be achieved in half a year or a year. With the Mountain Protection Array of Chongxuan Mountain fully activated, Zhouyang didn’t need to constantly guard outside her seclusion cave. Thus, life on the mountain continued as usual, except that all disciples were now prohibited from leaving the mountain gate.

And in less than two months, the assessment Zhouyang mentioned during the entry of Wang Yanzhang and Ye Yunshan as registered disciples took place as scheduled.

The assessment was personally presided over by Zhouyang to ensure that no one would show favoritism.

"To advance from Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation to Seventh-Layer Qi Cultivation in three years, even with the aid of spirit elixirs, is indeed commendable. However, you were specially recruited for your skill in Spirit Plant Techniques. Why have you not put in effort in this skill over these three years?"

On Chongxuan Mountain, Zhouyang, disguised as "Qingyun Wanderer," sat on a grandmaster chair, commenting on a registered disciple who stepped forward for the assessment.

The registered disciple initially showed a look of joy upon hearing his words, thinking there was hope. But upon hearing the latter half, he broke into a cold sweat and was unable to respond.

Seeing this, Zhouyang couldn’t help but shake his head, waved his hand, and said, "You may leave."

The three simple words struck the disciple’s ears like a bolt from the blue, making his legs tremble and his face filled with a lost expression as he retreated.

Actually, Zhouyang knew the reason even if the disciple didn’t speak.

With only twenty people on Chongxuan Mountain, Zhouyang could see clearly what everyone was doing by occasionally extending his Divine Sense.

Most registered disciples were just like him; upon arriving in such a spiritual qi-rich environment, they wished to spend all their time on cultivation to enhance their cultivation.

If it weren’t for the fact that managing the thousand acres of spirit fields, medicinal garden, and fruit garden was a mandatory task for registered disciples, they probably wouldn’t even want to "waste" a quarter-hour there.

Even so, after completing basic tasks like watering, fertilizing, and pest control, few of them were willing to stay and take advantage of the opportunity to cultivate Spirit Plant Techniques. Instead, they all wanted to return to meditation or visit the Scripture Pavilion to browse and study inheritances they seldom encountered as loose cultivators.

It can’t be said that these people were wrong. After all, for cultivators, meditation and cultivation to enhance one’s cultivation level is always the most important thing. The ultimate goal of everything else is to serve this purpose.

However, these people shouldn’t forget why Zhouyang recruited them as registered disciples and how they entered the sect.

For cultivators like Wang Yanzhang, who entered through combat and dueling, Zhouyang would not ask why they weren’t focused on improving their Spirit Plant Techniques. Their assessment criteria were solely based on their progress in cultivation.

But for a registered disciple like the one earlier, who entered through proficiency in Spirit Plant Techniques and then almost abandoned the skill that got them admitted, focusing instead on competing in cultivation speed like others, how could Zhouyang give a Foundation Establishment Pill to someone who couldn’t distinguish between priorities?

Did he lack those few Foundation Establishment cultivators?

With his status as a Golden Core Stage cultivator, if he truly wanted to recruit a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators as registered disciples, as long as he was willing to offer some resources as bait, a lot of Foundation Establishment loose cultivators and small clan Foundation Establishment cultivators would come to be his disciples.

Thus, Zhouyang naturally would not give important roles to those who couldn’t see through this.

So, one by one, the registered disciples lined up to be assessed by him, and then either happily or dejectedly stepped back, waiting for the final results.

Wang Yanzhang was also among those dejected.

He originally thought that his cultivation at Qi Cultivation Great Perfection would earn a second look from "Qingyun Wanderer," his nominal master, and he would understand his situation and give him a chance.

But reality delivered a harsh blow.

"Qingyun Wanderer" indeed did not ask about his cultivation matters. But when asked about his Spirit Plant Techniques, he was at a loss for words.

Compared to other disciples obsessed with cultivation, he actually spent more time and effort on this.

However, he truly had no talent in this aspect. In three years, he barely reached the beginner level, and that was after killing countless low-tier spirit elixirs.

Fortunately, Chongxuan Mountain had abundant spiritual qi, so those low-value low-tier spirit elixirs just needed to be planted, watered, and fertilized properly to survive and mature well. Because of this, Zhouyang allowed these registered disciples to experiment freely.

In stark contrast to Wang Yanzhang, his sister Ye Yunshan was highly praised by their master "Qingyun Wanderer." In three years, she advanced her Spirit Plant Techniques from Tier Two Middle Grade to Tier Two Top Grade and her cultivation from Seventh-Layer Qi Cultivation to almost Eighth-Layer Qi Cultivation, earning her a place as a Foundation Establishment Pill recipient.

"After assessing you all, I have determined that this time, the three winners of the Foundation Establishment Pills are Ye Yunshan, Li Qingyun, and Ren Fei!"

On Chongxuan Mountain, after all twenty disciples had been assessed, Zhouyang swept his gaze over the twenty registered disciples with varying expressions and announced his decision in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, the three winners, Ye Yunshan and the others, were overjoyed and immediately knelt, continuously kowtowing to Zhouyang in gratitude.

Meanwhile, Wang Yanzhang and the other unsuccessful cultivators wore pallid expressions, looking at the three with envious eyes.

They knew that once these three received their Foundation Establishment Pills, it wouldn’t be long before they, who had been equals, might have to start addressing them as "senior."

At this moment, Zhouyang spoke again.

"Of course, those of you who were not chosen should not worry. As long as you perform well in the future and catch my attention, I will not hesitate to bestow spirit pills to aid your Foundation Establishment."

Instantly, the faces of those who weren’t chosen lit up with joy.

Zhouyang’s words undoubtedly gave them hope once again.

Some couldn’t help but recall Zhou Ronghua, Zhou Rongxiang, and Zhou Shengying, the three senior Foundation Establishment cultivator brothers and sisters who entered before them; they already knew that these registered disciples of their master "Qingyun Wanderer" ahead of them had all been rewarded with Foundation Establishment Pills.

However, out of the five who took the Foundation Establishment Pills to break through, only three succeeded, while Senior Brothers Zhou Rongxing and Zhou Shengwei failed to establish their foundation, becoming Qi Cultivation Great Perfection cultivators like Wang Yanzhang.

Since those five senior brothers and sisters could receive Foundation Establishment Pills by earning the master’s "Qingyun Wanderer" special favor, why couldn’t they?

Thinking of this, these registered disciples who were unsuccessful in the assessment quickly regained their fighting spirit and confidence, respectfully thanked Zhouyang, and left.

After Zhouyang handed out the Foundation Establishment Pills to the three winners on the spot, he didn’t stay long and quickly returned to the summit area.

The summit area was a mysterious place for these registered disciples. Not only was there an array restriction isolating it, preventing them from entering, but it was also shrouded in array fog all year round, making it impossible for them to see what was happening inside.

On the entire Chongxuan Mountain, apart from the master and mistress, only the five brothers and sisters who had entered before them, such as Zhou Ronghua, could enter.

Whenever someone couldn’t resist their curiosity and inquired about the situation from these few, the previously friendly senior brothers and sisters would immediately put on stern faces and scold them, forbidding them from inquiring.

After several people met with resistance one after another, no one dared to ask about these matters anymore.

Only occasionally, upon hearing the high-pitched cry of an eagle from the summit, would someone speculate whether a high-tier eagle demon beast was being kept on the mountain.

In fact, this was the case. Zhouyang closed off the summit area mainly because he didn’t want those registered disciples to see the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle residing at the summit.

The Beast Taming Sect’s wanted notice clearly stated that he possessed a rare spirit beast mount, the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle.

If those registered disciples saw the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle residing on the mountain and figured out its origin, his true identity risked being exposed.

Therefore, he closed off the summit area, allowing only a few Zhou Clan members, who were in the know, to enter the area and help him feed this spirit beast while he was in seclusion.

The Golden-winged Thunder Eagle had been following Zhouyang for over two hundred years. Since being fed various high-tier demon beast meat and demon pills by Zhouyang, it had fully matured, becoming a powerful Tier Four Top Grade demon beast.

Unfortunately, its strength had increased rapidly, but compared to its owner, Zhouyang, it was far inferior. As a result, even though it was a fierce demon bird with an awakened barbaric bird bloodline, it could only be used as Zhouyang’s mount, completely wasting its talents.

Zhouyang was also aware of this problem, but he had been encountering enemies who were either Tribulation Crossing True Demons or Nascent Soul Stage Zhenren. Occasionally, he encountered Golden Core Stage enemies, who were also unsuitable for summoning this spirit pet, still just a Tier Four demon beast, due to various reasons.

As such, he could only use several Tier Four Puppet Beasts he had refined in his spare time to spar with this spirit pet, so that the fierce bird wouldn’t forget how to fight after too long without combat.

The eagle cries occasionally heard by those registered disciples were from the Golden-winged Thunder Eagle during its intense battles with the puppet beasts.

However, now that Xiao Ying was secluded in Core Formation, everything needed to be quiet. Zhouyang could no longer indulge in these games with the spirit pet and had to let it sleep in the Spirit Beast Ring to prevent it from one day forgetting the instructions and causing a commotion in the summit area, disturbing Xiao Ying’s seclusion.

Next, Zhouyang waited for Xiao Ying’s Core Formation result while continuing to practice the Stinging Dragon Avoiding Tribulation Technique he had obtained from the Tattooed Face Butcher Wu Biao.

This divine technique was practically a killer’s skill. Once mastered, as long as one wasn’t caught in the act, there was almost no worry about being tracked down later.

However, according to the cultivation realm’s universal rule, the more powerful the divine technique, the more difficult it was to cultivate.

The cultivation of the Stinging Dragon Avoiding Tribulation Technique required the assistance of a spirit grass called Cloud Breath Grass.

The Cloud Breath Grass was merely a Tier Three spirit grass, but since it had limited uses, artificial cultivation was rare, making it difficult to find in large quantities.

Fortunately, Zhouyang found several dozen fully grown Cloud Breath Grass in Wu Biao’s storage ring, likely stockpiles from Wu Biao’s regular practice of the Stinging Dragon Avoiding Tribulation Technique.

Additionally, he had already asked the Profound Sun Pavilion to help purchase this item and send a message to him for collection once a certain amount was gathered in Immortal Sun City.

Now, after more than a decade, although he hadn’t received a message from the Profound Sun Pavilion, he believed that with the might of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, they wouldn’t fail in such a matter.

But even with Cloud Breath Grass as an auxiliary material, Zhouyang’s progress in cultivating the Stinging Dragon Avoiding Tribulation Technique could not be considered fast. He estimated it would take at least another decade of cultivation before this divine technique could be employed in actual combat.

Fortunately, Zhouyang was a Golden Core Stage cultivator with plenty of lifespan remaining. Considering the advantages of mastering the Stinging Dragon Avoiding Tribulation Technique, this time investment was something he could accept.

Let’s talk about Wang Yanzhang and Ye Yunshan, the siblings.

After the assessment ended, with Zhouyang leaving first, Wang Yanzhang and the other unsuccessful registered disciples, except a few, mostly surrounded Ye Yunshan and the other three who received Foundation Establishment Pills to congratulate them.

Their intentions were quite simple. These three had a high chance of successfully establishing their foundation, so getting closer to them now would make it easier to ask for favors in the future.

At that moment, Ye Yunshan only wanted to quickly take her brother Wang Yanzhang back to their place and then give him the Foundation Establishment Pill she had just received for him to attempt establishing his foundation.

But having grown up struggling in the cultivation realm since a young age, she was very aware of the value in having more friends.

Even if she hadn’t successfully established her foundation, and even after doing so, she couldn’t ignore the kindness of these fellow brothers and sisters. If she did, she might pay a painful price for this day’s arrogance in the future.

After dealing with these people non-stop for half a day, Ye Yunshan finally found an excuse to leave the gathering with her elder brother, Wang Yanzhang, and return to the small courtyard where they lived.

On Chongxuan Mountain, there are numerous small courtyards and palaces built by the disciples of the Yuqing Daoist Sect. Even registered disciples like Ye Yunshan each have their own separate courtyard, without having to share with others.

But Ye Yunshan insisted on living in the same courtyard as Wang Yanzhang, and Wang Yanzhang had no way to refuse his sister.

"Sister, why did you hurry to bring brother back so urgently? Today is a day of great joy for you; we should celebrate more, shouldn’t we?"

In the courtyard, Wang Yanzhang looked at Ye Yunshan with a puzzled expression and directly asked the question in his heart.

Given their relationship, he didn’t need to overthink or guess anything and could just ask directly.

"Why? Isn’t it all because of you, big brother."

Ye Yunshan glanced at her somewhat rough and careless elder brother, rolling her beautiful eyes, and replied peevishly: "And what are you even saying? What day of great joy? The day you marry me will be my true day of great joy!"

Upon hearing her words, Wang Yanzhang retorted gruffly: "How many times have I told you, I will not marry you. Isn’t it good for us to remain siblings? Why do you always want me to marry you?"

"Then why won’t you marry me?"

Ye Yunshan glared at him with wide eyes filled with resentment, like a woman deeply scorned.

Yet Wang Yanzhang seemed oblivious to all this, replying helplessly: "You know very well why. I have long vowed that as long as I don’t achieve Foundation Establishment, I will not break my Primordial Yang Body!"

Ye Yunshan, seemingly expecting this answer, closely stared at him and asked, "So, it’s not that you don’t want to marry me, but because you don’t want to lose your Primordial Yang Body and hinder your Foundation Establishment by marrying me, right?"

"You could say that."

Wang Yanzhang didn’t realize anything was amiss and casually replied with a shrug.

Today’s kind of conversation had actually taken place many times before, and every time upon reaching this point, Ye Yunshan would look disappointed and not bring it up again.

He thought this time would be the same.

But this time was different.

Ye Yunshan, after hearing his words, immediately reached into her storage bag, took out the Jade Bottle containing the Foundation Establishment Pill, and threw it at him.

Instinctively, Wang Yanzhang quickly reached out and caught the Jade Bottle to prevent it from falling to the ground.

Then he heard Ye Yunshan speak with righteous conviction.

"Wang Yanzhang, hear me out. This Foundation Establishment Pill is my dowry. You will take it immediately to charge into the Foundation Establishment Stage. Once you succeed, we will marry right away and become official Dao Companions!"

Wang Yanzhang was dumbfounded.

He looked at Ye Yunshan in shock, and the serious and earnest expression on his sister’s face made him realize she wasn’t joking.

He stammered at Ye Yunshan, suddenly in a panic.

Ye Yunshan had been with him for more than ten years, and it was the first time he had seen her this serious.

Even though he was slow to react, he knew that this time her words carried a fundamentally different meaning from the previous half-joking ones.

Thus, unlike before, he did not immediately refuse without hesitation.

Because he was afraid, afraid that if he outright refused, it would utterly break his sister’s heart, leading to an outcome he desperately did not want to see.

He had to admit, after over ten years together, he had become accustomed to having this sister by his side.

At the very least, with this sister around, every time he returned home after completing missions, he could enjoy a meal that was deliciously cooked and sleep soundly.

Sometimes, when he returned injured, it was this sister who bandaged him, treated him, and even purchased healing spirit pills for him.

It was with this sister’s presence that he truly felt the warmth of home.

Therefore, after failing in Foundation Establishment, even though he was prepared to become a demon beast hunter, he never made up his mind to leave because he couldn’t bear to part with her.

Faced with Ye Yunshan’s sudden pressing confrontation, he was utterly flustered, not knowing what to do.

Seeing this, Ye Yunshan seemed encouraged, stepping forward determinedly, getting up close with him, and looking at him with a resolute expression, loudly declaring: "Wang Yanzhang, my life was saved by you. It was you who rescued me from the clutches of those villains. From the moment you saved me, I had already decided that I would marry no one but you. So if you don’t agree today, I will return this life to you, and thereafter, we owe each other nothing!"

"How did it come to this, how did it come to this!"

Wang Yanzhang couldn’t help but take a few steps back, staring blankly at Ye Yunshan’s pretty face, his eyes filled with panic.

He never expected that Ye Yunshan, who had always been obedient to him, would force him to make such a life-altering decision on a day .

"Love from ancient times leaves only endless regret, this regret continues without end! Wang Yanzhang, if you don’t agree to her today, you’d better kill her, or else she will surely turn her love into hatred and spend her life opposing you!"

A deep voice suddenly echoed in his mind when Wang Yanzhang was too flustered to make a decision.

Upon hearing this voice, his heart trembled, and he instantly snapped out of his daze.

He recognized the source of the voice—it was the voice of their master, "Qingyun Wanderer," the master of this Chongxuan Mountain.

Wang Yanzhang never imagined that when confronted by his sister Ye Yunshan’s ultimatum, he would receive a transmission from Master "Qingyun Wanderer," and that the words would chill him to the bone.

"No, I will never kill her. Even if she truly wants to kill me, I will not kill her!"

He shouted internally in response, forgetting that the person he was addressing was his master, a Golden Core Stage Cultivator who could dictate his life and death.

Fortunately, "Qingyun Wanderer" didn’t seem to care about this and just continued to transmit to him, "If that is the case, why don’t you dare to agree to her? Could it be that in your heart, marrying her is something more terrifying and unacceptable than death?"

Wang Yanzhang seemed unable to answer this question and got stuck again.

His shocked and hesitant appearance quickly aroused Ye Yunshan’s suspicion, and she stopped pressing him, concerned as she approached and grabbed his arm, asking, "Brother, what’s wrong? Who are you talking to with a voice transmission?"

Hearing her words, Wang Yanzhang felt a sudden chill down his spine, recalling the cold and ruthless words "Qingyun Wanderer" had just spoken.

Then, as if he’d made a decision, he took a deep breath, looked at Ye Yunshan, and said, "Alright, Brother agrees with you. After Brother successfully establishes the Foundation, he will marry you!"

Upon hearing his words, Ye Yunshan’s delicate body shook, and her pretty face flushed red with excitement as she vigorously shook his arm and shouted, "Really? Brother, are you for real? I didn’t hear wrong, did I? Say it again, I want to hear you say it again!"

Wang Yanzhang hadn’t seen her this excited and happy for a long time. The slight resistance in his heart instantly dissipated, and he forced a smile as he followed her words and said again, "Sister, you didn’t hear wrong, I said I agreed to marry you."

After speaking, he also said in his heart, "Master above, disciple is willing to marry Yunshan as his wife. If Master wants to punish her for anything, then punish disciple instead. Disciple is willing to bear the blame for her!"

Unfortunately, his words did not receive any response.

This left him somewhat uneasy, unsure whether his master had heard his words.

But he dared not speak of this, let alone tell Ye Yunshan the truth, and could only bear it in his heart alone.

Six months later, after Wang Yanzhang consumed the Foundation Establishment Pill given by Ye Yunshan, he successfully established his Foundation and advanced to become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

The sudden Foundation Establishment of Wang Yanzhang obviously surprised the other registered disciples, and when they learned that it was Ye Yunshan who had given her Foundation Establishment Pill as a dowry to Wang Yanzhang for establishing his Foundation, their eyes turned green with envy.

Using a Foundation Establishment Pill as dowry is something not even these Qi Cultivation Junior Cultivators or many cultivation clans would extravagantly do.

Only those great clans with Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators or even Golden Core Stage cultivators would do such lavish things when marrying off an important female family member.

After successfully establishing his Foundation, Wang Yanzhang indeed married Ye Yunshan as promised, and invited all the fellow disciples from Chongxuan Mountain to bear witness.

He even asked Senior Brother Zhou Ronghua to invite their master Zhouyang, but to his confusion, the master who once urged him to marry Ye Yunshan was unwilling to come and witness it.

Despite not understanding this, he dared not discuss it with anyone, not even his newlywed wife Ye Yunshan, and could only keep it to himself.

After two years, Li Qingyun, another registered disciple who also received a Foundation Establishment Pill, reached the Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivation stage and successfully advanced to become the fifth Foundation Establishment Cultivator on Chongxuan Mountain by using a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Another year passed, and the last registered disciple who received a Foundation Establishment Pill, Ren Fei, also successfully established his Foundation using the pill.

The creation of three Foundation Establishment cultivators from three Foundation Establishment Pills was quite rare, making Zhouyang very pleased, and he even bestowed several Tier Three Spiritual Artifacts upon the newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivators for their refinement use, and allowed them to select a High-Level Technique to cultivate. Follow current novels on nοvelfire.net

Of course, the High-Level Technique only included the Foundation Establishment stage Chapters, and only if they successfully opened their Purple Mansion and proved their loyalty with actions could they obtain the subsequent Chapters.

Thus, time slowly passed, and soon Xiao Ying’s five-year seclusion for Core Formation was over.

Five years later, on a certain day, a huge Spiritual Energy Vortex suddenly appeared atop Chongxuan Mountain, drawing in Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from Chongxuan Mountain and a radius of one to two hundred miles into the Spiritual Energy Vortex, quickly forming a Seven-Colored Spiritual Cloud in the sky above Chongxuan Mountain.

This movement on Chongxuan Mountain was quickly noticed by cultivators active nearby, and the news of someone achieving Core Formation on Chongxuan Mountain swiftly spread across the territory of An Country.